Darlington metal detectorist finds ancient 1900-year-old Roman coin in County Durham field.

Mark McMullan has been making incredible finds around the town for years but this coin stands out from the rest as a "corker".

Now that farmers are harvesting their fields Mark has been able to get back out and continue his search for ancient artefacts.

He has permission from farmers around the town to search on their fields and within his first week back he has struck lucky.

Mark described it as a "beautiful afternoon of treasure hunting".

(Image: Mark McMullan)

He said: "I found this 1900-year-old Roman coin in a County Durham field today.

"After the silver denarius, the large bronze sestertius is perhaps the second most commonly recognized coin of the Roman Empire.

"The other being the detectorists dream, the golden aureus. Worth 1/4 of a denari, a Sestertius could still buy you litre of wine or 1/2 of meat in Roman times.

"The Sestertius was struck in brass or bronze and weighting roughly 27 grams and measured about 33mm in diameter - think a £2 coin.

(Image: Mark McMullan)

"Their large size provided ample room for some of the finest Roman engravers to create masterful portraits and designs and some of the best Roman numismatic artwork can be found on these coins.

"Until recently, a sestertius of Hadrian held the record for the most expensive ancient coin sold at auction - a colossal 2 million swiss francs!

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"This particular example is rather battered and worth a little less.

"That said, it is nearly 1900 years old still a much welcome edition to my metal detecting collection."

You can follow more of Mark's finds on his Facebook page - The History Hunter.